Two Ukrainian civilians were shot dead in their village, bordering Russia, during an incursion by a group of Russian soldiers, local authorities announced.
The attack occurred in the Sumy region, within a five-kilometer zone bordering the border with Russia, which kyiv had asked residents to evacuate.
“This morning, an enemy reconnaissance and sabotage group brutally and cynically shot and killed one of our brothers and one of our sisters,” the regional administration said in a statement.
It happened in the village of Andriivka, 4 km from the border with Russia’s Kursk region, she said.
In a separate statement, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General said the victims were a 54-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman killed while riding in a car.
He released a photo of what he said was their vehicle, showing front and rear windows blown out.
Although infrequent, this type of attack has occurred from time to time since the start of the war.
Ukrainian authorities renewed their call on Saturday for residents of these areas to leave their villages.
“Russian terrorists continue to kill civilians. By leaving these dangerous areas, you will save your life,” said the governor of the Sumy region, Volodymyr Artyukh.
In addition, three other civilians were killed in Russian attacks in the east and south of the country, local authorities said on Saturday.
One person was killed by an explosive thrown by a drone in Beryslav, on the Dnieper, in the Kherson region, and two by an artillery attack in the Donetsk region.
The governor of Donetsk, Vadim Filashkin, also declared on Saturday that the bodies of five people killed during a Russian bombing on the village of New York two weeks ago had been removed from the rubble.
Moscow has not commented, but has denied targeting civilians since the start of the war, despite ample evidence to the contrary. According to the United Nations, at least 10,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war.